Once Bitten Twice Shy
by SiriuslyScarredforLife
Summary: Haylie Potter manages to defeat Voldemort, but at a high cost. With everyone she knows and loves dead, no future to look forward to and absolutely nothing to lose, she travels back in time in an attempt to nip evil in its demonic bud but miscalculates with her runes and ends up in 1976 instead. In short: The Marauders' and Lily's 7th and final year. Look inside to see full summary
1. A Really, Really Long Prologue

**Hey! Just in case you didn't know, I'm new at this thing, so play nice, 'kay? Alright, so I've read this plot enough to know that it's an awesome one but their numbers are, quite basically, few and far between. For those of you who want to know though, I really recommend these stories if you like time travel fics where Harry goes off and does something stupid which, once again, manages to land him in a sticky spot. Usually based on parallel worlds and the Marauder Era but hey, I'm a sucker for those types anyway.**

**Eternal Cosmos, A World Without Me. **Oh, this one I really recommend. It's got everything, from a slightly super Harry, to Remus and Sirius family love, to ample Death Eater action. Best of all, it's complete! So 'whoo'!

**HarryPotterBlack7, A New Life. **Quite good, this one is the one where Harry plays as James's brother. Not a lot of action until farther back but it's nice to see how Harry develops throughout the story. It's Sirius/Harry pairing, obviously

**mini-mind, Harry Potter and the Phoenix Burning. **This also ranks up top cuz' Harry is way awesome at everything he does and everyone loves him in this story! (I just love fanfics where Harry is well-loved. Merlin knows he deserves it after all the shit he's been forced to go through) Too bad it's not a Sirius/Harry pairing though :'(. In this one too, Harry plays as James's brother.

**Semika, Replay.** Definitely great if you want a hell load of laughs. I swear to Hogwarts and beyond, this fic will have you falling off your chairs and laughing off your butts by chapter 6 or 7 or whatever. In the Marauder Era as well.

**Trillium248, It Isn't Easy Being A Hufflepuff.** Damn good if you want a smartass Harry who goes against a slightly manipulative Dumbledore and makes friends with all houses. I know you'll love it. I loved it and I couldn't stop reading until the last chapter. Unfortunately, it's still on Hiatus. Hmph. Not a Marauder Era fic, though, more to Harry's fourth year.

**S'tarKan, Harry Potter and the Nightmares of Future Past. **If you haven't read this, then you haven't lived at all. I mean, Siriusly people! It has like 10K+ Reviews and almost equally the same amount of favourites. Crawl out from whatever rock you live under and read this fine work of art we call a fanfiction. Unfortunately, it's also on Haitus. Waaah!

**I guess that's all the *good* time travel fics I will recommend but there is one or two more that I think fans of Harry will like:**

**shadowarwen, Broken Dreams. **Where Sirius gets his act together (he's rescued from the veil by the way) and acts as the family Harry's only dreamed about and where Harry's friends' manage to get it drilled into his head that he's loved too. By them. Anyway, lots of angst, but not too much that you want to go emo and curl up in a corner and lament (no offense to emos all over the world, though)

**Artist 111, Harry Potter and the Veil of Death. **I seriously love this one. Don't you ove it when Harry gets all sacrifical and stuff and gives up everything for his loved ones? If you do, then this is the fic for you! Harry saves Sirius from the Veil by pushing him away and getting in the way of the curse itself but, here's the twist. He falls in himself! *evil cackle* It's a time travel fic. How? Read to find out, but I assure you, it's definitely a good read :)

**Southern Hearts, Shadowed Past. **Good fic overall but the only problem is that it's incomplete. Grr... Basically, everything's in this story. Lily and James are alive. Harry got lost when he was a kid. And they don't reunite until much, muuch later. I love it. You'll love it too!

**So I hope you like these stories, and if you do, feel free to PM to tell me how great I am for telling you all these Awesome stories (kidding!). But Siriusly, drop a comment on how you feel about one of the fics up here. And if you do have any fics you want to recommend that has a genre like this (e.g. time travel to Marauder Era, SiriusxHarry pairing, Harry as James's brother, Stories from the veil) Just PM me and I'll be right there. Yea!**

**I guess you've been waiting to read this fic in forever so go ahead. Just scroll down and leave a review at the end! thanks :)**

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**Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor any of its characters belong to me and I am not, in any way, profiting from posting this story up. All rights got to J. who was genius enough to think up this whole thing**

Title: Once bitten Twice Shy

Pairing: Sirius B/ Remus L. x Haylie P. (fem Harry P.)

Summary: Haylie Potter manages to defeat Voldemort, but at a high cost. With everyone she knows and loves dead, no future to look forward to and absolutely nothing to lose, she travels back in time in an attempt to nip evil in its demonic bud but miscalculates with her runes and ends up in 1976 instead. In short: The Marauders' and Lily's 7th and final year. As she and renowned ladies' man, Sirius Black, start falling for each other during her short noticed stay while Dumbledore plans a course of action, there's only so much trouble that can crop up, and having a now well and alive Voldemort on her tail again does not help her case any.

**Chapter 1 – A really, **_**really**_**, long Prologue **

Haylie Potter gasped as an overwhelming sense of vertigo raged through her as soon as she had blinked into existence in an abandoned alleyway that Haylie could neither recognize nor cared to. To anyone, whether be witch or wizard, she would have been an extremely strange sight. Haylie was still wearing a set of her old Hogwarts robes which had been dirtied with brown, day-old blood, grime and dirt and the edges of her cloak were frayed with dried mud and twigs that had clung onto her and remained from her previous skirmishes with Death Eaters. Her ink-black hair was a tangled nest of black and dirt which, added with the slightly paranoid look in her glasses-wearing eyes, only served to give her the portrayal of a crazy, if not slightly unhinged witch, recently broken out from Azkaban.

However, if Haylie had cared or not about her appearance, she did not show, instead, she gave a cursory look to her surroundings once her bout of nausea passed and allowed her deathly grip on her wand to ease a fraction at the noticeable lack of enemies/ possibly hostile strangers, though not yet enough to show she was comfortable.

Haylie's shoulders were tense with worry, trepidation, anxiousness and adrenaline and even, dare she say it, hope. She wished fervently that she had gotten the spell right. All of the Wizarding World's futures, her future and perhaps her sanity, depended on the success of the spell and it was all she could do not to race out of the dark, enclosing space of the alleyway to check out the damage that had / or had not yet been done to the old buildings of Hogsmeade, which she could now determine was where she was.

Instead, she made a quick, precise twitch downwards with her wand, barely murmuring the necessary words for the spell and watched as the numbers materialized in front of her.

8.46a.m.

14 February 1976

Haylie felt the breath leave her lungs and her eyes widened as the truth began to sink in.

It was 1976.

1976.

Not 1926.

Not the year when Tom Riddle was born.

Haylie just barely managed to stop herself from screaming in frustration and settled on jerking her hair, reveling in every painful throb she felt at every rough tug.

_No!_ This was _wrong_! All wrong ! It wasn't supposed to be 1976! It was supposed to be 1926! She was supposed to kill Tom Riddle the day he was born and the spell had transported her 50 years later than what she had been aiming for.

50 _bloody _years!

With a strangled cry, her knees gave way and she found herself kneeling on the cold, cobblestoned floor with tears of anguish streaming down her face. Her knuckles were bloody from punching the floor she hadn't known she had been hitting and it was only then did she notice the drops of fresh blood that was now splattered on the ground. She stared at the rosy hued droplets numbly for a few seconds, as though entranced, before she opened her mind, dropping her Occlumency as result and opened the floodgates for her previously suppressed feelings and emotions.

She focused actively on the pain and even welcomed it, trying to find an escape route from her wayward, chaotic and almost hysterical thoughts.

She had _failed_. She hadn't been able to reach her destination. Tom Riddle- No, _Voldemort,_ was on a rampage here and having not done anything for the past fifty years that had actively repelled his efforts, Haylie felt as though she'd spent the past half a century twiddling her thumbs as everyone around her fell and died.

She wondered how many muggles, muggle-borns, light or wayward dark wizards had already fallen by the Dark Lord's hand…

Suddenly, as quickly as the emotions came pouring out, it seemed as though a big lid had been clamped on it shut. The tears stopped, the tremors quelled, any previous thoughts she had had about her own misery and self-pity had seeped away in the space of a few seconds leaving behind a new sense of determination.

Haylie laid a calloused hand on the rough walls of the alleyways and heaved herself onto her feet painfully, shadowed eyes hiding a glint of stubbornness.

There would be time for self-deprecating thoughts later. For now, she'd revise her plan and think of a way to make do with her situation.

That was, after all, how she worked. 5 seconds were all she gave herself to wallow in her pitiful thoughts. 5 seconds of weakness. After that, she'd carry on with a new sense of determination and a new goal to complete.

The method may not have been perfect, and yes, she was expecting it to fail any time now in the near future, but it worked. And it _had _worked for the past 17 years of her life.

Breathing deeply, Haylie allowed her mind to clear and felt some of the fog lift, allowing her to analyze the situation.

There was no absolute way to return her to her place in the future (not that she wanted to) and she wasn't sure whether the spell would work a second time, so currently, she was stuck here, unless she find a way out which would no doubt take at least a year, or even maybe more.

She trashed her previous plan of killing Merope Riddle before she could bear Tom Riddle and instead settled on finding out what her _exact _location was, and finding a place to sleep in for a while, hopefully for at least a week.

With that thought in check, she straightened up and ran her fingers through her hair, now all too aware of her… less than satisfying appearance, after the past twenty four hours which had been an emotional rollercoaster.

Glancing distastefully at her blackened fingernails, she murmured a quick household cleaning spell, together with a quick motion with her wand, and felt the unpleasant feeling of being rubbed head to toe with hard bristled brushes. Nonetheless, she breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed her cleaner, more presentable appearance.

She smiled grimly at the sight of her robes, newly pressed and devoid of all dark brown splotches and tried to block out the images that usually accompanied how she got them. To the best of her abilities, she smoothed down her cleaner excuse of a wild nest of hair before exiting the alleyway, vanishing the drying puddle of murky brown on her way out.

It was nearing night where she appeared, the last of the day's light just dwindling over the peaks of the odd assortment of buildings, and there were very few people up and about.

Luckily, none cast too much attention to her, most being in a rush to return to their families, who were no doubt waiting for them somewhere, but a few, particularly nosy ones, glanced at her suspiciously as she passed them.

Haylie paid them no heed.

She was still too busy drinking up the sights of the unharmed, unscathed Hogsmead.

Inside, she felt as though her heart was bursting with joy, her previous melancholic thoughts temporarily chased out of her thoughts. In her minds eyes, she couldn't help but compare how the wreckage of the future Hogsmead had looked, unrecognizable to anyone and in desolate ruins, to the Hogsmead of now, whole and imperfectly perfect with its ancient shop houses and beaming stall keepers.

She knew which one she preferred.

Still in awe, she made her way down the path leading towards _The Three Broomsticks_, subconsciously recognizing the path she had previously taken with Hermione and Ron years ago, and passed previous haunts that made her eyes shine with reminiscent tears.

_Honeydukes Finest Chocolate, _whereshe could remember she had taken Remus to countless times in the past before the first outbreak of wall.

_Hog's Head_, where she and Hermione had their first DA meeting with Ron's support backing them up.

_Madam Puddifoot'sTea Shop, _where she had a disastrous first date with one Ravenclaw by the name of Terrence Smith once (needless to say, it was a disaster and the Ravenclaw had refused to come near Haylie for months on end after being threatened, very subtly, by two Weasley twins. One noticeably greener than the other)

And, probably the one with the most sentimental value of all, _The Shrieking Shack_, where she had run into, in tears, after a bad run-in with Malfoy in Hogsmeade, and where Fred had found her a moment later before having a heart-to-heart conversation where they had discovered their feelings for each other, which they had then settled with a kiss.

Haylie remembered that day the most.

She didn't think she had ever felt so happy, or so safe, compared to when she was in Fred's arms then.

Haylie didn't notice she had tear streaks running down her face until she reached up to brush a stray hair out of her face only to feel coolness on her cheeks. She rubbed them away roughly, biting back the urge to break down crying there and then. _Stop it, _she berated herself, blinking rapidly, _Fred's gone now. Thinking about him won't do you any good…_

It was logical thinking, of course, but it did no good to soothe the aching hole in her chest which had opened up somewhere in the process of her thinking.

Unbidden, memories of Fred and her sprung up and a chocked sob squeezed past her constricted throat.

_Her and Fred at the Weasleys, chortling madly at a joke Ron had made._

_Her and Fred at Hogwarts, meeting up at the kitchens for a late night supper where they had snogged more than they had eaten._

_Her and Fred both blushing Weasley red as George made a crude joke about their relationship before laughing aloud and risking a quick peck, under the amused eyes of Fred's siblings._

With great difficulty, she pushed herself out of her flashbacks even though she wanted nothing more than to immerse herself and lose herself in them, and found that she was now hiccupping hysterically, eyes watering.

A hand landed lightly on her shoulder and she flinched back, almost drawing out her wand, before meeting the worried eyes of Madam Rosemerta. With a start, she realized that she had been standing at the entrance of _The Three Broomsticks _for the past few minutes while she had been wallowing in the past and she realized she must have looked a strange sight to anyone watching. Embarassed, she brushed the tears away, blushing lightly before turning her watery eyes on the woman, smiling unsurely.

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked in a worried tone that had Haylie's eyes rewatering for it reminded her too much of Mrs. Weasley's caring voice.

She could practically feel her taking in her appearance, eyeing her dirty robes and messy hair, then they moved to her wet eyes and trembling smile.

Her suspicious eyes softened a fraction and a gentle smile formed on her amicable face.

As if by magic, a tissue appeared by her face and Haylie stared.

Then she sniffled and picked it out of the air, smiling slightly as she did so.

"Thank you," she choked out before dabbing at her eyes, all the while being watched sympathetically by Madam Rosemerta.

"Rough day, honey?" she asked and Haylie almost snorted at the irony. _You don't say_…

Instead, she shrugged slightly, "Somewhat."

She cleared her throat and extended her hand towards the older woman, who seemed a bit startled at the change of moods.

"My name is Haylie Rose Cross," she said politely, thinking ahead and deciding that it may be wise to make a _faux_ identity for herself since she was in an unknown environment_,_" And you may be?"

"Madam Rosemerta, owner of this fine inn."

She shook her hand warmly and nodded towards the cosy-looking building with its peeling paint and lit windows welcomingly," Are you looking to stay the night, dear?" she asked, regaining the bustling tone she, no doubt, must have developed from working for years as a landlady of the inn.

Haylie nodded," Yes, please, if I don't impose."

Madam Rosemerta actually giggled a bit at her statement.

"No, no, dearie," she said good-naturedly, patting her on the back, "You could never impose! I do run an inn after all."

Haylie felt her cheeks color a bit but nonetheless followed Madam Rosemerta as she made a bee-line for the entrance. Even from a few feet away, she could feel the warmth and happiness radiating from the building and felt her own relief for finding a place to stay at so quickly.

As they stepped through the thresh-hold, Haylie deftly engaged her host in conversation, trying to sound friendly and open at the same time.

"The place looks beautiful, mam," she said, and her statement couldn't be more true.

Perhaps half of Hogsmead might have been squeezed into the little space because it was quite crowded and there was hardly a place to move about in the bustling pub and inn. That was fine with Haylie. For an active girl like herself, she appreciated the feel of so many people at one place at one time, just interacting and plain having fun, and the feeling of isolation during war lessened a trifle at the obvious happy emotions everyone was radiating. _The war must not have been too serious here then… _she reasoned, staring at everyone's jubilant expressions. Just over the buzzing crowd's heads, she could see the bar, with its cosy atmosphere reflected by a mirror, and drinks like Butterbear and Firewhisky were being handled by a grinning bartender who, as she watched, leaned in close to an attractive looking witch and whispered something in her ear, causing her to blush beetroot red before laughing.

Haylie smiled to herself grimly, though felt a slight twinge of sadness seeing something that she and Fred had once shared.

Meanwhile, Madam Rosemerta was smiling widely at the compliment Haylie had just given.

"Why thank you, dear," she said, flustered but obviously very pleased, and her pine green eyes shone with happiness," I quite agree myself, actually."

Haylie continued eying the room, tearing her eyes away from the happy couple, still trying to digest its sights and sounds," Did you decorate the place yourself, then?"

Madam Rosemerta shook her head as negative," Sadly, no. You have my great-great-great Grandfather to thank for that."

"He built this place?"

"Aye, when my great-many times over-great Grandfather's son was still a wee child!"

"But you did make some changes, right? I mean, it can't have stayed like the way it was years ago!"

Madam Rosemerta smiled," My, my, so many questions, dearie! I can hardly keep up."

Haylie blushed at the teasing tone," Sorry, I tend to get a little carried away. My friends say I have the curiousity of a cat. Can't ever be satisfied." She felt a twinge in her heart at thinking about Ron and Hermione, her two best friends who had stuck with her through thick and thin, and had died fighting for a noble cause.

Madam Rosemerta waved away her apologies," Really, dearie, I was joking. I think it's splendid you ask so many questions. You may not know who to be trusted in times of war like these…"

She trailed off darkly, but Haylie's ears pricked up at the mention of war.

_So there must be a war here then! _She thought, somewhat reassured by it, even as her spirit fell at the thought of braving another war, _I was beginning to doubt it seeing everyone's seeming ignorance on the subject_.

The line of questioning was quite sensitive, however, judging by the dark expression on Madam Rosemerta's face and Haylie tried to steer the conversation back to safe waters.

Instead, she nodded, trying to look grim and knowledgeable on the subject at the same time.

"Quite right," she agreed, though inwardly resolving to look up on the matter more thoroughly the next day after a good night's rest," Is this where I'll be staying then?"

Madam Rosemerta had steered Haylie towards the emptier part of the building. There was a flight of stairs in front of them, and she could see doors lining the corridor it lead to. From her peripheral vision, she noticed her host nod.

"Aye, last door to the right. You can't miss it, dearie, it's quite straight forward," she explained.

Haylie nodded at the instructions before digging out her leather mole-skin pouch containing the galleons and sickles she had withdrawn from Gringott's when she had decided on the time jump.

"How much for at least a week?"

"A galleon a night, miss."

There was the sound of coins smacking against other coins and Haylie withdrew exactly seven galleons.

"I'll pay full now."

If Madam Rosemerta was suspicious as to why she had such a large amount of money on her, she didn't show, instead, she accepted the galleons with a wrinkled brow.

"Thank you, dearie, and have a good night," she said with an easy smile and, upon Haylie's answering grin, turned on her heel and headed back into the crowded pub.

As she turned the corner, Haylie et her easy going demeanor drop and allowed the haunted look in her eyes return. Tired, and completely exhausted, she rubbed a hand over her face, sighing loudly before climbing the steps to her room.

Her mind was spinning from her experience that night, _and she hadn't even met anyone from her past yet_!

She turned over the facts she had learned that night in her head.

_Voldemort was still alive and as active as ever._

_The war still wasn't as bad as it had been in her own dimension._

_And she was in a whole crap of trouble._

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	2. An Unwelcome Chance Encounter

**Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor any of its characters belong to me and I am not, in any way, profiting from posting this story up. All rights got to J. who was genius enough to think up this whole thing**

Title: Once bitten Twice Shy

Pairing: Sirius B./ Remus L. x Haylie P. (fem Harry P.)

Summary: Haylie Potter manages to defeat Voldemort, but at a high cost. With everyone she knows and loves dead, no future to look forward to and absolutely nothing to lose, she travels back in time in an attempt to nip evil in its demonic bud but miscalculates with her runes and ends up in 1976 instead. In short: The Marauders' and Lily's 7th and final year. As she and renowned ladies' man, Sirius Black, start falling for each other during her short noticed stay while Dumbledore plans a course of action, there's only so much trouble that can crop up, and having a now well and alive Voldemort on her tail again does not help her case any.

**Chapter 2 – An Unwelcome Chance Encounter**

Haylie woke up early the next morning, a goal in her mind and fully refreshed.

In a strange, perverted way, travelling back in time had eased her stress somewhat. The knowledge that she could do something to save her friends and families from their horrible fates uplifted her mood and she found herself with a smile on her face as she went through the morning's activities.

Teeth brushed, hair neat and clothes newly _scourgified _(she resolved to buy a new wardrobe of clothes at first opportunity), she stood in front of the only mirror in the living room, admiring her appearance with a morning cup of coffee in her hand and an appraising smile when something that could only happen in the Wizarding world happened.

The mirror spoke up.

And quite suddenly Haylie might very well add.

"Much better, honey," the mirror approved in a loud voice, frames lifting in a twisted version of a human smile," Your fringe really brings out your eyes."

Three things happened in quick succession thereafter.

Haylie gave a strangled sort of scream

Her hand jerked as though an earthquake had wracked her quaint room

And, coffee went flying everywhere.

With a muffled curse, Haylie stared at the newly made coffee stains in the previously immaculate rug. There was silence in the room as she alternated her glare from the sheepish-looking mirror to the empty mug which had previously held coffee, before she let out an explosive sigh, bringing her fingers up to knead her nose bridge. She rolled her eyes heaven-ward, murmuring a silent plea to whomever god was listening.

"Merlin!" she sighed heavily," Just great. I forgot mirrors in the Wizarding World could do that…"

She opted to ignore the apologetic stutters coming from the mirror, as her brow furrowed, trying to recall the house-cleaning spell Mrs. Weasley had taught her long ago.

It was something that started with 't', she knew. T-something. Tergro? Tegeo? Tergeo? That was it! _Tergeo!_

Satisfied, she murmured the incantation for the spell, waving her hand with a flourish at the stains and watched as they disappeared faster than you could say 'Quidditch'. Soon, there was no more evidence of the incident that had occurred a moment ago.

However, as she went to tend to her the bed (which she had, regrettably, left unmade that morning), there was the sound of knuckles on wood and Haylie turned towards the door a questioning expression on her face.

She went to open it, giving the mirror a warning look not to mention anything of what he had seen in the room a few seconds ago (the coffee stains and the wandless magic), and raised an eyebrow at seeing Madam Rosemerta at the door, looking pleasantly flushed in the face and carrying tray loads of foods balanced precariously in her hands and similarly on her elbows.

"Hello dear," she said cheerily," Good morning! I heard a sort of commotion in the room just now, is everything alright?"

With a flush, Haylie realized she was talking about her almost-scream that had escaped her mouth a few seconds ago.

"Oh right," she said hurriedly, still burning red in the face," Terribly sorry, Ma'am. Just that the mirror gave me a shock just now."

Madam Rosemerta cracked a smile at her sheepish expression upon realizing what she meant.

"Come now, dear," she said soothingly, "Many our muggleborn customers have been frightened by that darn mirror for years and years on end. You're not the first one to be."

She then nodded towards the pub area where Haylie could hear the strained notes of laughter if she strained her ears. "It's like Diagon Ally out there, Hogsmead weekend and all. The noise is loud enough to wake the dead. It was wonder I was even able to hear you above all that noise."

Haylie cracked a weak grin at her joke but, mostly, her mind was reeling in numbed shock. It was a Hogsmead weekend? That meant all Hogwarts students, third year and up would be here! Everyone whom she had known who were born during this time period. 'Shit' wasn't a good enough word to express the mortification Haylie felt at the thought. This was too soon! She didn't know who was staying at this current time period. What if it was Malfoy Sr.'s Sr.? Or Bellatrix Lestrange (Merlin better hope she not bump into that particular person)? And who knew who else…

She shook herself out of her morose thoughts and forced a smile when she heard the pub owner's voice bringing her back to reality with a nasty bump.

"Were you planning on going out sometime later?" she asked curiously, having not noticed Haylie's lapse of attention for the time being.

"Yes," she answered and she pushed her thoughts aside (there would be time for that later)," Preferably to purchase new clothes for myself and, maybe buy some potion ingredients or too. I'm assuming you will be attending to the pub then?"

Madam Rosemerta nodded before the both of them flinched at the sound of glass breaking in the other room. Madam Rosemerta huffed and gave her an apologetic glance.

"So sorry to cut this conversation short, dear, but I think I've left those adolescents unattended long enough. Have a pleasant day and personally, I hope we'll be able to continue our conversation later."

Haylie gave an appreciative smile.

"I'd like that."

The two women exchanged nods and Madam Rosemerta hurried off to face the commotion that had gathered in her pub.

"If you'd like, I could help you out in the pub later," said Haylie after her retreating back.

She merely got an uncertain, "We'll see," from Rosemerta over her shoulder and she smiled before shutting the door close with a sigh, once again kneading her nose bridge.

"Ugh," she groaned, feeling like whacking her head against the door," Why do all these things happen to me?"

Feeling as though fate were laughing at her, she made her way to complete the rest of her chores, cheery mood already overleaden with depressed thoughts about evil, bigoted grandfathers and crazy, curly-haired murderers.

…

At exactly one in the morning, she set off to do some shopping of her own, armed with her well-worned wand which was always at her disposal despite her being able to do wandless magic and the day prior's clothes.

As she had feared, the pub was as crowded as it could get but thankfully, fate had decided to take mercy on her that morning, for none of the Hogwarts students she recognizedfrom her own timeline were regulating the pub.

She meandered her way through the crowd of adolescents and had almost made it to the entrance when Madam Rosemerta headed her off.

"You're already going off dear?" she said in a bustling tone as she wiped the mug she had in her hand with an apron. A tray of butterbeers was floating beside her.

Haylie nodded. "I've decided to get a head start on the shopping. There's only so much hours of light in a day."

Madam Rosemerta seemed to accept her answer. "Take care dear," she said brightly, and, in a much more whispered voice, she leaned in and whispered," And do look out for anything too suspicious. I'd hate to lose such a precious customer such as yourself."

In between her stuttered thanks through a blushing red face, Madam Rosemerta laughed good-naturedly and patted her shoulder once, shortly albeit fondly.

"Take care of yourself," she repeated before she left to tend to a customer that had been eying the both of their interactions with curious but impatient eyes.

Haylie shook off the strange feeling that had arisen in her chest at the touch and opted to send a soft smile at her before she spelled a _notice-me-not charm _over her and a quick glamour charm that changed her features slightly, and then she was off.

…

She suppressed her turmoiled feelings at seeing Hogsmeade whole and undamaged, and kept a tight leash on her emotions as she strolled as casually she could through the thick crowd. Children jostled her a bit as they played in between shoppers' legs, screaming childish insults at each other, and she was pushed to the side more often than she could count by busy shoppers, but for the most part, she didn't mind.

Her mind was focused solely on the shopping at hand and she was mentally calculating how big of a dent today's shopping would make in her, admittedly, large resources. So far, the results were ranging from 500 galleons to 700. It all depended on how long she would be spending at the bookshop, actually.

Smiling a little to herself and her book- obsession (she was turning out like Hermione) she made her way to _Gladrags Wizardwear_ where she had planned to buy new clothes. Those sold there weren't as skillfully done as Madam Malkin's, nor as tastefully, but they would be wearable. Haylie vaguely remembered going there once to buy Dobby a pair of Novelty socks for his birthday with Hermione and Ron.

The bell rang as she entered and she wasted no time and went straight towards the women section.

By the end of her trip, she had picked out practically a whole new wardrobe which comprised of three new pairs of black robes, plain and unremarkable (but that was just how she wanted them), dress robes for special occasions (it couldn't hurt to be prepared), two new pairs of shoes, second hand Hogwarts ones, three pairs of novelty socks in honor of Dobby who had died in his previous life, one hooded robe, a woolen scarf with reminiscent red and gold colors and a pair of dragon hide gloves and boots for the cold winter weather that was sure to come.

The shopkeeper rang this all up and the total went up to about 38 galleons and 15 sickles.

She handed the correct amount to him without skipping a beat and barely spared him a glance as his eyes trained on her suspiciously as she left with her purchases.

_Let them think what they want to think, _she thought indifferently, _I don't care. _

She checked her mental list of things to do again.

Clothes Shopping, _check_.

Onto Potions materials.

She altered her course to head towards _Potage's Cauldron Shop _where she bought a pewter cauldron then to _Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment _where she bought about a dozen glass vials which she spelled unbreakable and bronze brass scales. She resolved to get a few more potion ingredients from the _Apothecary _if there was time as she picked out a few fungi here and a few leaves there at _Dogweed and Deathcap. _

Potions, _check_.

With her purchases shrunk safely in her inner pocket, she wandered the roads for a moment.

She was slightly surprised that she hadn't come across anyone she knew yet while she had been shopping and was slightly if not more than suspicious as to the lack of people.

Perhaps she should have treasured the peace while she could and not have questioned it because it was then that there was a sound of protest behind her and, before she could move, was shoved painfully to the side by a moving body.

The breath left her lungs as she came into contact with the hard, unforgiving cobblestoned floor and a gasp of pain sounded to her left. She couldn't turn around even if she tried. Her arm was twisted at a strange angle.

"Ow," she winced as a throb of pain traversed up her wounded arm. _There goes the rest of the day_, she thought irritably. But as she turned around to glare at the offender, she was met with wide, familiar eyes of grey.

The only thought that entered her mind was: _Sweet Mother of Mercy, kill me now_.

Then her eyes rolled into her head and she hit the floor the second time in a few moments.

At least she could blame her fainting on the pain that was currently travelling up her arm.


	3. Admitted the Strangest Way

**Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor any of its characters belong to me and I am not, in any way, profiting from posting this story up. All rights got to J. who was genius enough to think up this whole thing**

Title: Once bitten Twice Shy

Pairing: Sirius B./ Remus L. x Haylie P. (fem Harry P.)

Summary: Haylie Potter manages to defeat Voldemort, but at a high cost. With everyone she knows and loves dead, no future to look forward to and absolutely nothing to lose, she travels back in time in an attempt to nip evil in its demonic bud but miscalculates with her runes and ends up in 1976 instead. In short: The Marauders' and Lily's 7th and final year. As she and renowned ladies' man, Sirius Black, start falling for each other during her short noticed stay while Dumbledore plans a course of action, there's only so much trouble that can crop up, and having a now well and alive Voldemort on her tail again does not help her case any.

**Chapter 3 – Admitted the Strangest Way**

Even before she opened her eyes, Haylie knew she was in the Hospital Wing.

The familiar smell of antiseptic and the lemony tang of cleaning fluids penetrated her senses, however faint it may have been, but when you spend your whole life somewhere you tend to mark down and remember some stuff.

Like the sheets for example. Crisp, white and fresh.

Haylie welcomed the customary feeling.

For a moment, she felt as though she had never left old Hogwarts and was, once again, in the Hospital Wing for some dangerous situation which she could not control and was being blamed for, being told off by an irate Madam Pomphrey.

She could almost recall her voice.

Strict, business-like, professional.

Wait-

That was Madam Pomphrey's voice.

Haylie was almost tempted to wrench her eyes open right away to check on it herself but good sense caught up with her and her war instincts came into play.

"_Check the environment first," _a berating voice that sounded suspiciously like Mad-Eye Moody said,"_ It wouldn't hurt and it could mean the difference between life and death."_

Haylie forced herself to relax.

She knew she was in the Hospital Wing, she'd been in here enough to know that at once, so she could say that she was at Hogwarts. She knew she was somewhere near a window and that it was still day, if the pure, unadulterated sunlight pounding against her closed eyelids were enough to indicate that at least. A tentative magical scan told her that she had company, about four or five other people.

What had happened to land her here again?

She vaguely remembered saying good-bye to Madam Rosemerta as she left the pub/inn, she could recall checking off two chores off her list of things to do. Then, what had happened?

As she pondered over her situation, a conversation started up beside her, starring voices sounding ridiculously familiar.

"Honestly, Albus," The first voice said. Madam Pomphrey. No doubt about it, all hands down. It was her. Haylie felt her thoughts stutter to a stop and her heart beat increase erratically. _Shit! _"After what Mr. Black did, one would think you would punish him more severely! He put a child in the Hospital Wing for Merlin's sake!"

A sudden memory pushed itself to the forefront of her mind.

_Sirius!_ She had seen Sirius! Only a glimpse but there was not a doubt that it was her godfather. Whole and in the flesh! If Haylie thought re-meeting Madam Pomphrey was a shock, her heart practically stopped when she heard Sirius' name being uttered.

Sirius had collided into her at Hogsmeade, no doubt due to some antic he and James had been pulling at the time. She broke her arm and they brought her here. Typical. Breaking her arm and being forced to return to Hogwarts sooner than she was ready. She should have never questioned the peace while it lasted.

Oh well, might as well get this over with.

With a fake groan, that was not fully duped for her arm had decided to act up at that exact moment, she allowed her eyes to flicker open but was immediately assaulted by bright sunlight.

"Dammit," she moaned, squeezing them shut instantly in response and turning her head away," I hate the Hospital."

There was a dither of commotion and almost all conversation died down when they heard her groan of protest. A weight that she hadn't noticed before was eased off the end of her cot and there was a feeling of somebody's hand on her back, coaxing her to sit up and a cool object which she guessed was a potion was pressed to her lips. Thankfully, the curtains had already been drawn.

_Déjà vu_, she thought, remembering waking up like this many times before.

"Come now, child," Madam Pomphrey's voice said cajolingly," you need to drink this to get better."

Haylie sniffed cautiously and almost recoiled at the pungent odor emanating from the lip of the vial. She screwed up her nose.

"I think I'd rather stay like this, thanks."

There was a bark of laughter to her right side but it was almost instantly silenced by a reprimanding slap and a disappointed hiss.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage, Sirius?" a male voice whispered disapprovingly.

Haylie couldn't speak; she had just heard her godfather's laugh. Unfortunately, the nurse took her momentarily shock as an opening and poured the vile tasting potion down her throat.

The taste was enough to snap Haylie out of her stupor and she coughed loudly, eyes watering as it entered her senses. It was ice-cold and tasted off sweaty gym socks and Haylie felt as though she had finally found a contender for Snape's equally vile potions.

_Oh god, _she thought disgustedly, _that was nasty._

Aloud, the only word she could think to express her disgust was, "Eugh."

A wizened hand patted her back sympathetically.

"I myself have never tasted one of Professor Slughorn's potions but I have heard they are quite revolting, or so I am told."

Swallowing the shock of hearing the late Albus Dumbledore speak, she nodded her head, agreeing with her statement wholeheartedly, even as her throat grew tight.

"Words can't describe the disgust I feel, sir." Then, in a more hesitant voice, she added," Where am I?" _A beat_," And where are my glasses."

Admittedly, she felt naked and blind without said instrument and all she could see of the Hospital Wing was a few black blurs to the side, one, considerably bigger, purple blur behind her and a white blob beside her cot.

She felt the glasses being pushed up her nose bridge and smiled in relief, ceasing in squinting her eyes.

The room sharpened into focus but Haylie almost preferred the room when it was in shapes and colors only. At least she hadn't been able to see any of the details of her company's faces. With a choked throat and none too wet eyes, her gaze shifted from one person to the next before ultimately shifting back for another round. _Sirius. Remus. Dumbledore. Madam Pomphrey. James. _

They were all here, and they were all alive.

Merlin, even her dad!

She hadn't even known they were born during this time period! And it really spoke a lot when a child didn't even know their parents' were born.

Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat she nodded gratefully to Dumbledore who smiled genially at her.

"I'm sure you must be very well wondering how you ended up here," Dumbledore started, though Haylie noticed the discreet stare he directed to where she could feel the others were staring a whole in her back," But I am terribly sorry to tell you that you have been landed here by one of my student's recklessness."

Even Haylie winced at the tone of his voice. _Ouch, that has got to hurt._

Feeling the familiar guilty sensation bubbling in her stomach, she tried to head off Dumbledore's stern chiding.

"Please sir," she blurted out, well aware that she had cut the great Albus Dumbledore off in the midst of a chewing out," It was my fault. I hadn't watched where I was going. It was my own carelessness that has landed me here."

She then proceeded to flinch as Dumbledore leveled his twinkling blue eyes at her, eyebrow raised slightly.

"Indeed, Miss-?"

"Cross. Haylie Cross."

"Hmmm…" Now Dumbledore looked immensely curious, as compared to his mildly curious/amused stare he had been giving seconds ago.

He gained a thoughtful air around him.

"Cross, you say," he murmured," I haven't heard of any young witches by the name Cross. Pray tell, dear, which school are you from? And if you don't mind me asking, are you a muggleborn?"

Haylie suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Homeschooled, actually," she said, lying by the skin of her teeth," And I'm a half-blood."

"Interesting. And are you still being homeschooled?"

"No, sir. My parents died a while ago," _There, that wasn't really a lie_," And I've no one to continue my education. My father's side has already died off and my mother's is all muggles. 'Fraid I haven't been at a desk awhile."

By the end of her explanation, Dumbledore's eyebrows had reached his hairline and his interest seemed thoroughly peaked. He seemed to ponder something over for a moment.

"If you'd like Ms. Cross," he said," And if you'd be willing to submit your grades for checking over, I'd be willing to admit you into this school."

At first, Dumbledore's words took a while to sink in but when they did, he eyes suddenly widened and her mouth dropped to form a small 'o'.

She blinked once, then again, and suddenly Dumbledore seemed to look more like a senile old man in her eyes. _Was he kidding her?_

There was a whoop of excitement that caught her attention and suddenly she was tugged backward into a hard, monotholic wall of muscle. She hid a wince as the movement jarred her arm, which she only just noticed was lying limply beside her swathed in a makeshift cast, but she was mostly distracted by the stormy grey eyes that had appeared in front of her own, albeit upside down.

Keeping her breath steady, she blinked once then gave a tentative smile.

"Hi," she said cautiously.

"_HEY!_"

Haylie winced because

He'd just screamed in her ear

And

He wasn't exactly a mile away from him. He was practically beside her ear.

Thankfully, she was saved the trouble of rebuffing him when someone pulled him away from her and they entered her line of sight.

It was Remus, and he was looking none too little sheepish and exasperated at Sirius's antics.

"I apologize for my friend," he said, blushing red slightly under her stare, "He got dropped as a baby."

Ignoring the indignant cry of 'Hey!' from his friend, he offered Haylie a hand and leaned down to give a quick peck.

"My name is Remus," he said when he straightened, face like a tomato, "And the idiot that screamed in your ear just now is Sirius. Unfortunately, he is also the one who collided into you and landed you here."

Someone cleared his throat and both Remus and Haylie froze as Dumbledore gently cut into the conversation, looking amused.

"I believe I will explain from here on, Mr. Lupin."

Remus stuttered.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

He blushed a final time before shuffling off to the side where Haylie caught a glimpse of James giving his friend an extravagant pat on the back, winking blatantly before leaning in to whisper something into his ear. Haylie wondered what he could have said to make Remus's face so red. And what had happened to make Sirius looked so sullen all of a sudden.

Dubledore waited for the boys to quiet down a moment before clearing his throat once again.

"Ah," he said, a jovial note in his tone that told Haylie he knew more than he was going on about, "It seems that a few people are already eager for you to join us. Hmm, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin?"

The boys in question blushed.

"But I'm afraid we are getting off track. Now, back to the matter at hand, I am afraid to say that earlier today, these three boys were playing around at Hogsmeade and one of them, a certain Mr. Black, happened to collide into you while you were, I have reason to believe, shopping? -" Haylie nodded. "- Unfortunately, the fall was quite nasty and resulted in the fracture of your arm."

Haylie traded glances from her limp arm to Dumbledore's twinkle-less eyes to the suddenly abashed looking boys with dawning realization.

"Oh!" she said," No, no, no. It's really alright. No permanent damage, see? Really, I'm fine."

Dumbledore eyed her curiously as she waved her arm at him as example.

"Hmm… Indeed."

Haylie wondered what could possibly the reason for his thoughtful air but before she could find out, he fixed his stare on the boys beside her and nodded at the spot in front of her, motioning them to come forward.

"It seems Ms. Cross is willing to bury the hatchet, Mssr. Potter, Lupin and Black. Seeing her adamance on the subject, I will be willing to let go of punishment just this once. But please, do exercise caution the next time."

The boys only seemed too willing to forgive-and-forget in her opinion and Haylie stifled the laughter bubbling up within her when she saw the boys were practically jumping on themselves, trying to get to her to apologize first. Not Remus of course. He was leisurely following the wake of destruction the two boys in front of him were leaving.

"_Potter! Black!_" shrieked a voice and which Haylie recognized as Madam Pomphrey's," No running in the Hospital Wing!"

It seemed as though this was a regular occasion at the Hospital Wing for Remus only picked his way through the bickering crowd before he plopped next to Haylie, watching his friends getting run out by Madam Pomphrey, hissing like a goose.

Dumbledore patted her shoulder, once.

"Should you ever accept my invitation, Ms. Cross, it still stands."

"I'll think about it."

But even as she said that, she knew she was going to. She would never give up a special offer like this.

She inclined her head respectfully to Dumbledore and he returned the action, standing up to leave.

"I will be eagerly waiting your decision. And I do so like _Cockroach Clusters_."

As he left, Remus cocked an eyebrow at his retreating back.

"Cockroach Clusters?" he wondered aloud.

But Haylie just smiled, Dumbledore had just given her the password for his office.


End file.
